College Kids Launches Back to School Campaign

This week, College Kids launches their back to school campaign and every dollar donated will be matched up to $500. The campaign runs from Monday, September 14th to Saturday, September 19th. College Kids will receive a $500 bonus after 25 new donors give to the program. Donations are tax-deductible. Matching funds are provided by the 1:1 Fund, a national nonprofit that supports children’s college savings accounts programs and incentives.

College Kids will open dedicated children’s savings accounts for 3,500 kindergartners who attend a public or charter school in the City of St. Louis, beginning this fall. The program, created by Treasurer Tishaura O. Jones, automatically seeds each account with $50.

The campaign will raise funds for the incentive programs. Families can earn extra deposits by participating in financial education classes and saving early into the account, and are automatically rewarded each week their child has perfect attendance.

“As a public official, it is my mission to show our children that someone at the top cares about their future and wants to invest in them,” said Treasurer Jones. “What better way to do that than through College Kids?”

College Kids was created to make college accessible to St. Louis students and connect families to healthy financial products and services to save for college. Research shows that low-income students with less than $500 in savings are four times more likely to graduate from college. Through outreach programs and collaboration with schools, College Kids will create an expectation that all St. Louis students can choose to go to college.